Electric bassist Liebig has traveled a long and winding road to get where he is, including stints with Les McCann and Julius Hemphill and a bit of time studying classical c…

Electric bassist Liebig has traveled a long and winding road to get where he is, including stints with Les McCann and Julius Hemphill and a bit of time studying classical composition and playing and writing symphonies and whatnot. None of that information prepares you for the onslaught that is the Mentones, a raging quartet that filters stomping blues and Americana through a tweaked, slightly Zornish avant garde prism. Let's elaborate.

The band is Liebig on electric bass, Tony Atherton on alto sax, Bill Barrett on chromatic harmonica and Joseph Berardi on drums, and from the opening salvo of "Fingeroo" I found myself searching the CD package and press notes to see who else was playing. There's no way four guys could be making this much noise! But they do, snaking through brutal unison lines, with Barrett overdriving his microphone ala classic Junior Wells. Toots Thielemann this ain't, my friends. Berardi's drumming is muscular and rock-inflected, and he and Liebig get deep into the groove, while fortunately avoiding the easy traps of funk. Check out the frenetic workout on "Locustland" or the greasy shuffle of "All Gone," and you'll get a sense of it. Even when they do approximate funk, like on "Fire and Ice," the groove turns on its head as Barrett goes to town.

]]>morrice.blackwell@gmail.com (Tom Chandler)Progressive - CD ReviewsSat, 28 Mar 2009 19:00:00 -0500Seize the Time by Ted Sirota's Rebel Soulshttp://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/progressive-cd-reviews/seize-the-time-by-ted-sirota-s-rebel-souls.html
http://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/progressive-cd-reviews/seize-the-time-by-ted-sirota-s-rebel-souls.htmlTake a quick look at the song list on the back and the first thing you'll notice is that this set begins with a Clash tune. The Clash? Did we bypass Radiohead and go straig…

Take a quick look at the song list on the back and the first thing you'll notice is that this set begins with a Clash tune. The Clash? Did we bypass Radiohead and go straight to Joe Strummer? Well, sort of. The song is more a tribute to the Clash, an expansion on their song "Clampdown" than it is a literal rendition. And the Caetano Veloso song and the Miriam Makeba song hew closer to the originals, it's not by much. Sirota is a forward thinking bloke, and he's not here to make it big by jazzing up some pop tunes ala Robert Glasper et al. Actually, the real thread that connects most of the material here is political activism. The Clash song is a paean to personal freedom in an increasingly big brother society, Caetano's "13 De Mayo" celebrates the end of slavery in Brazil, the Mingus tune decries prison conditions and racism, "Viva Max!" is a reference to how Max Roach's social conscious is inspiring to drummer Sirota and his music.

The first thing you'll notice when you put the album on is the infectious joy that seeps out. At times things can get cacophonous, not unlike the Brotherhood of Breath, or Mingus when he's happy and not mad as hell. Tenor player Geof Bradfield and altoist Greg Ward weave in and out of each other's lines with an abandon that would do Konitz and Marsh proud. Dave Miller's guitar playing is delightfully away from mainstream Scofieldisms (his solo on "13 De Maio" is truly awesome). The band has a way of settling into a heavy groove, like the reggae of "Killa Dilla" (much thanks to Sirota and his partner in the rhythm section Jake Vinsel on bass), that somehow belies their simultaneous ability to get crazy.

Rebel Souls is a band full of great writers as well as improvisers. All of the members contribute a tune, and together they make up a democratic band concept, rather than the Ted Sirota Autocracy. Or so it seems to me.

]]>morrice.blackwell@gmail.com (Tom Chandler)Progressive - CD ReviewsSat, 28 Mar 2009 13:00:00 -0500Entrances by Ori Dakarihttp://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/contemporary-jazz-cd-reviews/entrances-by-ori-dakari.html
http://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/contemporary-jazz-cd-reviews/entrances-by-ori-dakari.htmlWhat an impressive debut! The Israeli guitarist (by way of the Berklee College in Boston and then NYC) fits perfectly into the Tzadik worldview, although perhaps Dakari's m…

What an impressive debut! The Israeli guitarist (by way of the Berklee College in Boston and then NYC) fits perfectly into the Tzadik worldview, although perhaps Dakari's music is a tad more mainstream than the usual output from Zorn and co. The melodic material throughout Entrances is heavily influenced by Jewish and middle-eastern tonalities, but presented in a very contemporary post-bop kind of way. Together with fellow traveler Uri Gurvich, whose alto playing matches Dakari neck and neck, the leader uses his meditative structures and tonalities to leap off into swirling improvisations.

Also deserving special mention is Eric Doob, a hyper-dynamic drummer in the vein of someone like Jeff Ballard or Eric Harland. Doob delivers much of the punch that nudges this disc into a higher territory. Gurvich and Dakari are focused on clear tone and melodic invention, with not a lot of grit in their playing, which is what Doob brings to the party. Check out the conversation that's happening between Doob and Takashi Sugawa on bass under Gurvich's solo on "Besora." Gurvich is mostly floating over it, but the rhythm section doesn't mind. They're happily kickboxing and knocking each other out of the ring.

Other standouts are the waltz (if you can call it that) "So Far Yet So Close," once again pitting a singing melody against a maelstrom of a rhythm section. When Dakari steps up for his solo here, his thought process is so transparent you can see the melodic development almost before it happens. Like Gurvich, he's never one to let go of control, no matter how much Doob might goad him, instead pushing into the upper register for an almost rock star moment of repeated riffs before Gurvich brings it all back.

The ballad "Remembrance" ventures a little towards ECM territory, perhaps propelled by Mika Nishimura's piano playing, or more correctly, the way the piano is recorded. However, "Remembrance" is nice in that it gives Nishimura a bit more of the spotlight, where elsewhere the piano sort of disappears into the music.

As a composer, Dakari is clearly quite sophisticated, relying often on ostinato patterns to set up a groove under his undulating melodies. But where a lesser writer might take the middle-eastern modality into stereotypical territory, Dakari always throws some little twist into his melodies, turning down side streets to avoid the main thoroughfare. He's clearly at home with this kind of modality, and even if many Tzadik releases rely pretty heavily on so-called klezmer scales, Dakari's gift for melody separates him from Tzadik-as-usual (if there is such a thing).

Cycles Suite cover is a kind of whited out picture of leader/guitarist/composer Chris Jentsch .

Cycles Suite pretty much kicks ass. Geeky Chris Jentsch is actually a pretty mean musician, as he roams between grooving, large band textures and full-on space bits, then launches into some rock guitar riffs. I would say the overall tone is pastoral, with the more out textures evoking birds and open fields (Jantsch writes how the free sections are actually intended to signify pre-birth/after-death, dream states and hallucinations. I still like the field animals and birds interpretation though) while the band textures are mostly impressionistic, with one tune even taking a bit from "Tristan and Isolde" as a starting point.

Of course, as with all large jazz ensembles, the band matters very much, Mike McGinnis' excellent clarinet solo in movement II is remarkable, and also the justly featured Mike Kaupa's mellophone and trumpet. Jentsh's guitar playing feels like a direct descendant of Abercrombie, and he tends to de-emphasize his own instrument throughout the piece. But then again, it's his writing that is the real star here. The composer has a broad reach and an excellent touch. Maybe in the end that doesn't matter after all.

A member of Philip Glass' ensemble since 2007, some of Crowell's pieces on Spectrum have a decidedly minimalist bent. It's a little funny, because the disc opener, "…

A member of Philip Glass' ensemble since 2007, some of Crowell's pieces on Spectrum have a decidedly minimalist bent. It's a little funny, because the disc opener, "Happy Nightmare," plays with some of the rhythmic offsets and things like that, but still exists as a kind of modern jazz piece, balanced between improv and composition. The leader plays alto over churning bass and drums with Grey McMurray's guitar adding spacy textures around the edges, actually hewing somewhat close to an m-base feel like some of Vijay Iyer's cerebralist concepts. And it's pretty burning, I have to say. Things then take a left turn as "Point Reyes" develops into a pretty straight ahead minimalist workout, followed by "Long Goodbye," a piece given over almost entirely to McMurray's ethereal guitar textures, augmented by some tapping on the drums by Nazary.

It all does make sense, though, because of Crowell's talents as a composer (not unlike fellow New Yorker John Zorn, he's also an active "classical" composer, writing works for things like string quartets and much larger ensembles with strings and winds etc.). For me, the more aggressive tracks stand out, perhaps as a respite to the repetitive motifs of the more classically oriented writing, and also notable is the improvisation as here and there members of the band break out of the stringent compositional constraints and really blow.

This is pretty cool. Crowell is really walking his own path in all the ways that it counts. And when the polyrhythms really kick in ("Nectar of Life Pt 2"!!) it makes one head spin.

Although this is ostensibly a free recording, and it is in fact totally improvised, the palette that the two long-time collaborators are working with here is explicitly ton…

Although this is ostensibly a free recording, and it is in fact totally improvised, the palette that the two long-time collaborators are working with here is explicitly tonal and accessible. Carrier has been known as a pretty expansive live player, a direct descendant of St John Coltrane, but here the focus is on compactness and abbreviation. There are twenty tracks total, ranging from a around 45 seconds to as long as six minutes, with most running under two minutes. The idea is to condense the ideas (of which there are many!) as much as possible, a haiku instead of a sonnet. Also, the duo take each new piece as a chance to explore a different angle or texture. The casual listen, however, may not easily show when one improvisation ends and the next one begins, instead sounding like a longer, thematically linked suite. Or something.

Both Carrier and Lambert are stellar, if a little polite. If you're expecting Frank Lowe and Rashied Ali, you'll be taken aback by the gentleness of touch here, as Carrier's nepali flute and soprano playing evokes zen music, not unlike some of Dave Liebman's work. When he switches to alto he tends to get a little more robust, which makes a nice contrast. Lambert's light touch is incredibly refreshing, even as he explores places off the beaten track (both players are credited with their instruments as well as other "objects"). At times, like on "Unknown," there are snatches of sweet melody, and always the use of space is exquisite. Thankfully, things never get ECM-ish, as I could imagine happening pretty easily with this spacious approach to collective improvisation, instead maintaining an integrity and spiritual approach (like the best ECM discs of course) without falling into the new-agey-ness of the lesser output of that great label. This is very high level music making.

A NY contemporary of guys like Ben Monder and Brad Shepik, Baggetta is a versatile, lyrical guitar player with a melancholic compositional sense that lends itself to open ends. This is his first disc as a band leader (not counting two with his TIN/BAG duo or one solo prepared guitar disc), and he fully spotlights his tunes rather than his chops. Well done, Mike! From the boppish head for "Stellar" to the floating melody of "The Heights" his melodic sense is truly beautiful. Jason Rigby's tenor playing adds a little color, although I could use some more aggression from him: he prefers very thoughtful extrapolations to emotional outbursts. But then that might be said of Baggetta as well. Those looking for Nels Cline need not apply.

Eivind Opsvik has a warm, meaty tone on the bass, and he can walk with the best of them, but, not unlike Larry Grenadier, he's apt to launch off into his own thing, playing around the drums and melody instruments, commenting and throwing out his own ideas. Drummer RJ Miller is equally at home playing rubato a la Paul Motian or swinging it pretty straight. The duet between Baggetta and Miller on "Heartland" is a really nice example of the kind of communication that is apparent throughout.

Swingin'! The second album from pianist Markley (get it? Second Intro?) has a playful forward propulsion that is impossible to deny. Go ahead. Try it. Did you succeed in denying the swing? No, you didn't. So there! From Markley's lighthearted charts to the solid base provided by Evan Gregor and Jordan Perlson to the stellar, aggressively played soloing by the front line (especially Maria Schneider alum Gisbert on trumpet), this is modern mainstream jazz at its most infectious. Never met the guy, but I bet Markley has a good sense of humor and is fun to talk to.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about the darkness of a player like Mehldau or the somber tones of ECM discs. I groove hard to out jazz and find it hard to appreciate people that sit too much in the pocket. But Markley's quintet is nothing if not in the pocket. You'll find interesting, yet pretty straight up harmonic structures, nary a multiphonic from Jim Pisano's tenor, and only the occasional really surprising chordal juxtaposition in the leader's own playing. Yet there's magic here! Perlson really lights a fire on "Dry," Gisbert is stunning on... well, on every track. It's like those classic Blue Note sides (not that it particularly has a Blue Note vibe) where everyone just plays their asses off. It's a communal sort of thing.

Or maybe it's the focus on major keys and upbeat tempos. Heck, it's all of that. Even the ballad "But Beautiful" (the only standard on the disc) doesn't veer into melancholy, steering instead towards the kind of gentle sun that someone like Red Garland used to supply. This would far and away be a good band to see play live. Forget prozac, we've got Ben Markley!

]]>morrice.blackwell@gmail.com (Tom Chandler)Straight-Ahead - CD ReviewsTue, 10 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0600Three3 by Michael Vlatkovichhttp://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/free-jazz-avante-garde-cd-reviews/three3-by-michael-vlatkovich.html
http://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/free-jazz-avante-garde-cd-reviews/three3-by-michael-vlatkovich.htmlThe West Coast trombone genius continues his odyssey of exploring the trombone/bass/drums format, with delightful results. This time the tritet is filled out with Chris Lee…

The West Coast trombone genius continues his odyssey of exploring the trombone/bass/drums format, with delightful results. This time the tritet is filled out with Chris Lee on drums and Ken McLagen on drums, and between the three of them, the listening is really incredible. Three3 was recorded live in Denver in 2007, although any crowd noise has been edited out. As with any trio, of paramount importance is variety of texture, which the tritet achieves with seemingly no effort. Vlatkovich gives his comrades plenty of space, and while everything stays essentially tonal and lyrical, even when they actually head into swing territory, like on "Neighborhood Beasts Let Their Hair Down," the approach is pretty free.

Perhaps the most stunning thing is that Vlatkovich is as nimble on the instrument as he is. Trombone, of course, has some famous jazz exponents, but for some reason retains the reputation of a somewhat clunky beast to improvise on. Vlatkovich puts those issues to rest in a very conclusive way. Not that he's trying to be Dizzy Gillespie, but you get the sense that he could blaze up the scales if he wanted to. His muse leads him into more reserved music, however, and he writes tunes that mirror his improvisational goals, frequently building off ostinatos before opening up into spacious improv sections.

McLagen and Lee are simultaneously supportive of the leader's thought processes as well as pushing their own ideas out into the music. Truly, they are the rhythm section everyone wishes they could have, with their elasticity, sense of dynamics and playfulness. They reflect Vlatkovich's good vibe: Three3 could definitely be defined as feel-good music, and how often can you say that about music from the so-called creative music community?

Ever since he formed ThankYou records in 1982, Vlatkovich has consistently pursued whatever project inspired him at the time, ranging from large ensembles to a duo with tuba to a myriad of trombone-poetry dialogues. Lately, however, the pattern of his interest in the tritet has become more clear, and if you compare this recording to his others in this format, it becomes apparent how different each recording is. Aside from the fact that he employs different rhythm sections on each outing, he also seems to focus on an over-arching theme for the tritet to elaborate on, even if it's hard to articulate exactly what that is. Despite even repeating a track from his Origin tritet disc Queen Dynamo ("The Length of the Tail..."), the feeling is quite different.

Vlatkovich is one of those guys who's been around a long time, and yet flies under the radar of most jazz heads. It's unconscionable! This is easily one of the best albums this year.

]]>morrice.blackwell@gmail.com (Tom Chandler)Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD ReviewsMon, 09 Feb 2009 18:00:00 -0600With You In Mind by Danny Greenhttp://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/straight-ahead-classic-cd-reviews/with-you-in-mind-by-danny-green.html
http://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/straight-ahead-classic-cd-reviews/with-you-in-mind-by-danny-green.htmlSan Diego pianist and composer Danny Green is pretty extraordinary. Still in his twenties, he has a firm grasp on a variety of Brazilian and Latin grooves, and puts it all …

San Diego pianist and composer Danny Green is pretty extraordinary. Still in his twenties, he has a firm grasp on a variety of Brazilian and Latin grooves, and puts it all to use in a thoroughly modern way. Perhaps not as aggressive as classic bossa trios like the Rio 3 or Jorge Autori’s group, Green has a buoyancy that’s very alluring. With the exception of one tune, these are all his compositions, and they have the kind of hummability you would expect from classic sambas or choros.

Green is supported on this, his debut as a leader, by Justin Grinnell on bass, Dylan Savage on drum, Tripp Sprague on soprano sax and Allan Phillips on percussion. The band is tight and light, lifting the different grooves off the ground, but also able to play in a sensitive modern jazz bag as well (check the almost Mehldau-esque "Off The Streets"). It’s the sort of group that supports its leader rather than stealing the show: the focus is firmly on Green, and he delivers, whether he’s playing piano, Rhodes or melodica (or melodica and Rhodes simultaneously!).

While so much jazz these days is dominated by navel-gazing a la ECM or mainstream lack of substance, Green instead offers up some fun and happiness. The melodies are buoyant, the band sounds like they’re having fun (without every becoming derailed), and Green is smiling in his publicity pic. I frequently wish people played with a denser harmonic concept, but Green doesn’t make me feel that at all. It’s not that his direction is devoid of harmony or closely-voice chords (like his playing on the lone cover, Danilo Perez’s "Suite for the Americas"), they’re there, but also the openness on the other side of the coin isn’t bland in the least. The only misstep could be the reggae groove on the album opener, "Doctor Pasta". But I’ll let that one slide in the face of all that follows.